Gateways:

Dual Degree Engineering Program

The Engineering Program at Southwestern is designed to provide a core foundation that supports both the creative thinking elements of engineering, as well as the scientific.

Engineering is a creative application of scientific principles, one that is focused on designing or developing structures, machines, or manufacturing processes, that realize a desired objective.

Southwestern’s Engineering Program places the technical training of the engineer within the broader perspective of a liberal arts education. In this age, engineers cannot always confine themselves to the technical aspects of engineering projects. The modern engineer must be aware of the social responsibilities of the profession, and must be able to explain the possibilities and the risks of new technologies to others. Indeed, many engineering schools have chosen to place added emphasis on the arts and humanities. Choosing a path that starts at Southwestern allows students to gain the benefits of a rich liberal arts experience (including excellent science and math foundations) that helps prepare them for completing their engineering degree and competing in the job market.

Southwestern’s dual degree Engineering program consists of three years of course work at Southwestern, followed by approximately two years at an engineering school accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). At Southwestern, students complete the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts as well as basic science and mathematics courses that comprise the Physical Science Major. Once students complete of all of the requirements for the engineering degree, Southwestern will award the Bachelor of Arts degree.

Engineering notables

Caroline Weston, a junior in Southwestern’s dual degree engineering program, has been selected to participate in a summer research program for undergraduates sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Weston will spend 10 weeks working with Keith Strevett, a professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science at the University of Oklahoma, examining the shear capacity of pre-stressed concrete I-girders that have been strengthened with carbon fiber-reinforced polymers. These girders are used to support a number of different types of buildings.